Success Story: How to start detoxifying the school lunch

We asked for your success stories on how you and your family are living toxic-free – and you responded with enthusiasm. I’m happy to pass along this great story given to us by Kim from BC. This is the first of many success stories, so keep those stories and tips coming! Send your success story or tip to: info@toxicnation.ca. Please include your name, and the city and province you live in. Also, include your email address or phone number so we can get in touch with you. Environmental Defence reserves the right to edit your submissions for clarity and length. Keep up the good work! Toxic Nation Campaigner

Dear Toxic Nation, I’d like to share with you my suggestion for every parent’s weekly chore – the school lunch. For years now, I have been sending my children to school with glass jars in their lunch bags instead of the ever-present Ziploc baggies. Glass jars with the metal tops/rings work great for fresh fruit slices, veggies, yogurt, salads etc. While people might think canning jars are too fragile to send to school with kids, they’re wrong. In the last three years, we’ve only had one incident where a jar has broken. While my kids get quite a bit of teasing from classmates, they’re used to it now and just shrug it off. We all know that at least when they eat their organic carrot sticks, that’s all they’re eating. For school lunch drinks, I almost always just send water. We have a reverse osmosis water filter at home and I send the kids’ water in a stainless steel water bottle. The bottles are fantastic – durable and convenient and they have nice wide mouths to drop ice cubes into. I bought the bottles two years ago and they’re still going great. I have three children and make five lunches for our family every day. These small changes make for not just a more environmentally friendly home, but we save a lot of money using washable containers instead of disposable ones. My calculations are that in bottled water alone, our family saves over $1,825.00 per year. Now that’s a lot of plastic to avoid ingesting!! Thanks for all the great work you’re doing to create awareness about everyday toxins here in Canada. Keep the faith!! Sincerely, Kim